Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-04-22
ALEXANDER aITcHELLs SUDDEN DEATH

Alexander Mitchell, wisconsin's mil
lionaire banker and railroad magnate, has
run his earthly course. At $50 O'Clock
Tuesday afternoon at the Hoffman house
New York City, he laid down the temple
OF clay worn and wearied with the cares
and labors of an eventful and useful life
and entered into his eternal rest, after 9
brief illness. Wisconsin may we'll feel a
deep pride in claiming him as a citizen.
Mr.. Mitchell possessed shrewd business
faculties equalled by few and excelled by
none. His strict honesty coupled with
this made success for him inevitable. He
was the wealthiest man of the state and
always used his mighty influence for
good purposes, never resorting to base or
under-handed schemes. This influence
was not only felt in his home city and
state but extended TO the business circles
of the whole world to which his death
will be shock as great as it was sudden.
The immediate cause of his death was
failure of the action of the heart brought
on by pneumonia. The Milwaukee Even
ing journal gives the following historical
sketch of Mr.. MItchell's life:
Alexander Mitchell was born Oct. Is,
1917, In the parish of Ellon, Aberdeen
shire, scotland. His father was farmer,
and the early days of the future financier
were passed in the same avocation. For
two ho sfn -.
and then went into a bank at Peterhead,
and remained there until he came to Mil
wankee in May, 1899, when, in company
with George Smith, of Chicago, he organ
lied the Wisconsin Marine and Fire In
surance company, an Institution that was
in reality bank, although not called one
on account of the law then in force. The
bills OF this company we've the only relia-
bic paper currency the territory had for
many years, yet despite the times every
dollar was redeemed when presented.
IL lSil, David Ferguson, joined Mr..
Mitchell in the bank, and despite the
panlcs, runs and other incidents common
to institutions of the kind, there has
never been time during the forty eight
years of its existence that "Mitchell's
bank" as it is commonly called, had not
met every liability.
Following the panic of 1857 the city of
Milwaukee was in a condition of almost
hopeless bankruptcy, owing to the issue
of railroad and other bonds, and plan
was adopted by which refunding bill was
passed in the Legislature, largely by advice
of Mr.. Mitchell, who, with Chas. Quentin
and Joshua Hathaway, constituted the
first commissioners of public debt Under
the various city administrations the COM
mission has been frequently changed as
to two of its members, but Mr.. Mitchell
has been constantly reappointed, doing
great deal of gratuitous work for the
municipality in negotiating and caring
for its securities and interest.
1t is as manager and promoter of
railroads that the deceased was best
known to the world, he having been for
years at the head of the Chicago, Milwau-
kee d st. Paul company, corporation
that controls more miles of road than any
other in the world. From thu time rail
roads were first constructed here
until the panic of 1857, each |
line was operated by separate com
pany, and some of them paid. After the |
panic things grew worse, and continued |
so all through the war, until May 5, 1868 |
when the Milwaukee l. st. Paul comp pany
was incorporated by Mr.. Mitchell and his
associates, who saw that the only way to
save what they had invested in building
the different lines was to bring them
under one management. Mr.. Mitch
ell was elected president and S. S. Mer-
rlll general manager, and taking up the !
loose ends where others had dropped
them, they knit togegher railway sys-
tenn that has made Milwaukee the city it
is, and brought to its merchants trade
from the most remote points of the west
ern territories.
Politically Mr.. Mitchell was originally
a whig, then he joined the republicans in
electing Lincoln and prosecuting the
war; afterwards joining with the
democrats in support of Presi- !
dent Johnson. Since then his party sent
him to congress in 1870 and 1872,
and would have continued him
there if he had not declined further Of
nominated Mr.. Tilden, and was one
of his most ardent supporters. In
1879 the democrats wanted him to be
candidate for governor, but he declined.
Throughout his political career he was al
ways moderate and conservative in his
views, and seemed to favor measures that
would insure general prosperity rather
than party success.
Mr.. Mitchell was married in 1S41 to
Martha Reed, daughter of Seth Reed, one
of the pioneers of Milwaukee. He has
one son, John L. Mitchell, who devotes
much time to fine stock-raising.